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10/29/09 - USPTO Class 707 |  1 views | #20090271376 | Prev - Next | About this Page  707 rss/xml feed  monitor keywords

Search device and search program

USPTO Application #: 20090271376
Title: Search device and search program
Abstract: Where destination candidates that are selected by a search are arranged in a specified display order, the candidates are divided into two subgroups, based on a median value, and a first destination candidate, a median destination candidate, and a last destination candidate are displayed. Where a desired candidate is included among the three displayed candidates, a user chooses the desired candidate. Where the desired candidate is not displayed, the user selects one of a first subgroup button and a second subgroup button to display the destination candidates in the subgroups before and after the median value, respectively. If two-hundred-fifty-three candidates are displayed in a sequential list in five candidate display spaces, a maximum of fifty operations are required to view all of the candidates. In contrast, the divided display arranges the two-hundred-fifty-three candidates into six levels, so the desired candidate can be selected in a maximum of six operations. (end of abstract)



Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC - Alexandria, VA, US
USPTO Applicaton #: 20090271376 - Class: 707 3 (USPTO)

Search device and search program description/claims


The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20090271376, Search device and search program.

Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
  monitor keywords INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-113765 filed on Apr. 24, 2008, including the specification, drawings and abstract is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a search device and a search program, such as a search device and a search program that input a character string and search for a corresponding candidate.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

A search device that inputs a character string such as a phonetic representation or the like and searches for a candidate that includes a character string that corresponds to the input character string is used in a wide variety of fields, such as mobile telephones, navigation devices, and the like.

To take the case of a navigation device, for example, as proposed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-H11-271084, in a case where a search is performed for a name of a location, a name of a facility, or the like at a destination, the destination candidates are selected by inputting a phonetic representation of a name, an address, a telephone number, or the like from a touch panel.

Then, when the search according to the phonetic representation, genre, or the like is completed, the selected destination candidates are displayed in list form on a display screen, and if the desired facility is included in the displayed list, it is chosen from among the locations in the list. If the desired facility is not included in the displayed list, the desired facility is sought and chosen by scrolling the list one of one candidate and one page at a time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With this sort of search device that is used in the navigation device, a specified number of the selected destination candidates, such as five, for example, are displayed at one time, in order according to the Japanese syllabary and starting from the beginning.

Therefore, if the desired facility is the last of the selected destination candidates in the display order, the scrolling and page switching operations must be performed any number of times. The number of operation cycles becomes particularly great in a case where the number of selected destination candidates is large.

In a case where the desired location is in the back of the displayed list, the scrolling and page switching can be performed in a reverse direction, starting from the beginning of the display.

However, because it is not possible to know where the desired facility is positioned among all the selected destination candidates, it is not clear that the scrolling and page switching in the reverse direction will actually reach the desired facility more quickly.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to make it possible to choose the desired candidate more efficiently from among the selected candidates that correspond to the input character string.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the search device is configured such that it specifies as the lower level candidate groups, the plurality of the sub-candidate groups of which the candidates are consecutive in each group but not consecutive between different group, all the candidates or the selected lower level candidate groups. The search device also displays the candidates that are not in one of the specified lower level candidate groups and selects the specified lower level candidate groups or the displayed candidates. The search device then sets the selected lower level candidate group or all of the candidates to be displayed. The search device thus can display and select a desired destination effectively.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a navigation device in which an embodiment is used;

FIG. 2 is an explanatory figure that conceptually shows contents of destination data (location information) that is stored in a destination data file;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory figure that shows an input device and a display;

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B show examples of found destination candidates that correspond to an input character string;



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Search query scoring and popularity monitoring and systems and methods therefor
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Data processing: database and file management or data structures

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